Page 68 of Death Bringer

“With all due respect, it’s not up to you what I do, is it?” She scanned the empty square and drew her weapon. “All I need to do is get a fix on Adam, and I’m off.”

“No, Soul Sucker.”

The Fae snapped her fingers and Ella was hurtled backward through walls and time and…oh, God, she was going to puke. She landed with a thump on a stone floor. Manacles slithered toward her and attached themselves to her ankles. By the time she righted herself, all sense of the Fae queen had gone. She was alone in what appeared to be a castle dungeon complete with burning torches in sconces and an arched oak doorway up a flight of stone steps.

“How very Disneyesque.” She raised her voice. “Where the hell am I?”

“Shh.”

A familiar voice answered her from the shadows.

“Rossa?”

“Shh!”

“Can you get me out of here?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what do you want?”

He eased out from the darkness and crouched in front of her, golden eyes wide. “Where’s cygnet?”

“How the hell should I know? He disappeared off with Adam.”

He touched her cheek. “But your face! That wasn’t supposed to happen!”

He disappeared. Ella was left staring at nothing.

“Come back, you idiot!”

After a few more shouts, she stopped wasting her breath and contemplated her options. Her gun had disappeared, but she still had her backpack. Did she have anything sharp enough in it to cut through the chains? If they were bespelled, which seemed likely, she might be able to use iron to destroy them. She rummaged in her backpack. Why didn’t she carry an iron bar around with her? She really needed to be more prepared. She unearthed a small silver knife, but that proved totally ineffectual against the strength of the chains and merely blunted the blade.

“Dammit! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

The wall in front of her quivered and a man came through. He was tall, and blond like Rossa, but one hundred times more beautiful. His power flooded over her and through her, and she instinctively raised her shields.

“Soul Sucker.”

“I prefer Ms. Walsh. Who are you?”

He leaned back against the stone wall and contemplated her, arms crossed over his bare, muscled chest. Thank God he had pants on, or from her viewing point she’d be getting quite an eyeful.

“I’m cygnet’s father.”

“Oh.” That couldn’t be good. Wasn’t he the one who hated Vadim’s guts and didn’t want him anywhere near Otherworld? “What’s up?”

“With me or with you?” He nodded at her chains. “You seem to be in some trouble.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

He smiled and for the first time she saw a hint of Vadim in him. “I can see why my son finds you so amusing, child.”

“He doesn’t anymore. He left me.”

His smile disappeared. “So I hear.”

“Do you know where he is?”

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